Indoor Academy Takes Shape At The Marshes Golf Club

A lot of Canadian golf clubs take on having a winter indoor golf school, but how about a state of the art, climate-controlled golf performance centre that you can use all year-long? That is what recently opened at The Marshes Golf Club in the west end of Ottawa, Ontario and it has debuted just in time for the off-season.

Last winter, Head Professional Derek MacDonald (the 2018 PGA of Canada – Ottawa Zone Junior Leader of the Year), set up for the season in a space not far from their highly touted public golf course. It served the purpose as golfers from the area flocked to practice and improve their golf skills, but it was all done with a bigger vision in mind. That mission has now taken shape inside the award-winning clubhouse at their Robert Trent Jones designed golf club.

“We’ve gone from an off-site location to an on-site location, transforming one of our spaces into a year-round training facility,” shares MacDonald, a PGA of Canada Class A Professional known for progressive approach to golf instruction.

The new academy can be found on the lower level of the clubhouse, just around from the pro shop, locker room, and Jones lounge, and it is a wonderland for golfers.

“We’ve made a significant investment, so we can provide an experience that has never been offered in the area,” shares the pro. “We’ve committed to adding tools that will help golfers achieve true improvements.”

Inside the Academy space golfers will find a state-of-the-art TrackMan simulator available for rental and for lesson use when it is open. “With the Trackman Simulator we are able to sell green fees everyday to allow people to have another option to play golf indoors. It is also a tool we can use for teaching outside of those times.”

To complement the simulator there are two other teaching bays that will also feature Trackman Doppler radar technology for measurement of the club and ball data.

Of course, the use of launch monitors is a just a start in this golf improvement playground. Here you will also find BodiTrak Pressure mats, a S.A.M. Putt Lab, MySwing 3D Motion Capture, V1 High Speed Video and a myriad of other tools players can use with the PGA of Canada coaching team to advance their skills. They are also the first club in Canada to feature a Putting Perfection Platform for working on putts of varied slope and speed.

A Perfect Putting Platform and S.A.M. Putt Lab are just two of the features at The Marshes Indoor Academy

“I truly feel that what we offer here, when you consider all the features, is truly above what you can currently find elsewhere in the area. Everything that we offer at The Marshes is all measurable data and information. There is no more guesswork involved. We’re not just hitting balls into a net and using some video to guess what is happening in the swing. In everything we do we are getting real, quantifiable data. So, we know based on bio mechanics of the body movement, the movement of the club and the ball itself, what would be going on with the golf ball flight if we were hitting outdoors.”

In response to news of the enhanced set-up the membership for the golf school has doubled for this winter with plans to allow more users next season if the logistics work out. The team want their members to get as much access as they need.

Two membership packages were offered, a base one and another providing extended coaching options. The TrackMan simulator is available for hourly rentals.

One thing that all users will enjoy is the extra amenities in the nearby Jones lounge. It offers a full bar, up to seven televisions, and a pool table was recently added. Golfers will have no problem filling up their time before and after training and playing.

Of course, the training facility will be of benefit in the winter, but it is meant to be used year-round as well. With a permanent location inside the clubhouse there are numerous possibilities for future uses.

“I know any golfer will love what we have done here at The Marshes,” adds MacDonald. “I encourage them to stop by to have a look. I know they will be impressed.”

It’s that time of year. We’re just weeks away from the 2019 Flagstick Open Amateur Championship presented by TaylorMade and Adidas. Hosted at eQuinelle, it’s one of the best tournament values you’ll find all year [...]

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